@Duke Ellington : When asked what inspired him to write, Ellington replied, “My men and my race are the inspiration of my work. I try to catch the character and mood and feeling of my people”
@Red Hot Jaz : He returned to New York again in 1923, but this time with a group of friends from Washington D.C. They worked for a while with banjoist Elmer Snowden until there was a disagreement over missing money.
@PBS : : His father, a well-respected butler (house manager) for a prominent Washington doctor, sometimes served at the White House and ran his own catering business. His mother was a beautiful woman who sometimes worked as a domestic.
@Harlem 1900-1940 : He made his recording debut about 1924 and the band recorded under several names, such as the Jungle Band, the Whoopee Makers and the Harlem Footwarmers.
- Oscar Peterson Trio - C-Jam Blues3.26
- Cecil Taylor - Azure7.28
- Bill Le Sage - It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing3.24
- Mal Waldron - Solitude6.00
- Guy Barker - I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)3.17
- Andre Previn - I’m Beginning To See The Light8.00
- Ben Webster - The Single Petal Of A Rose3.20
- Ella Fitzgerald - Just A-Sittin’ and A-Rockin’3.31
- Betty Roche - Rocks In My Bed4.11
- Stan Getz - Prelude To A Kiss2.52
- Stan Kenton - Don’t Get Around Much Anymore3.23
- Yusef Lateef - I’m Just A Lucky So And So4.39
- Charles Mingus - Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me3.39
- Dynah Shore - Mood Indigo3.04
- James Newton - Black And Tan Fantasy5.41
- George Gee Big Band - In A Sentimental Mood5.17
- Peggy Lee - I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart2.56
- Patti Page - I Didn’t Know About You2.39
- David Murray Big Band - Warm Valley11.05
- Charlie Byrd - Just Squeeze Me12.27
@Duke Ellington Centennial Celebration : Compositions would be conceived as colors, and many of his works attest to this by name: Black and Tan Fantasie, Black Beauty, Black, Tan and Beige, Mood Indigo, Carnegie Blues, Blue Serge, Transbluency (A Blue Fog You Can Almost See Through).
@Photo Matt : Duke said : “I never had much interest in the piano until I realized that every time I played, a girl would appear on the piano bench to my left and another to my right.”
@Duke Ellington Legacy : : In 1953 Ellington recorded the album Piano Reflections, on which some of his most enduring work as a pianist can be found. A religious man, Ellington began composing liturgical works (which he called sacred concerts) in the 1960s.
@Wikipedia : Ellington was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1965, but was turned down. His reaction at 67 years old: “Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn’t want me to be famous too young.”
to be continued… probably
